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Feminism Now
1930s, 1940s, 2000, and 2001
In September of 2000, fifteen Asian women filed a class action law suit in Washington D.C. against the government of Japan, for crimes committed against an estimated 200,000 women kept as sex slaves, called "comfort women," during World War II. Repeatedly raped and abused by Japanese soldiers, the women were held in captivity until the end of the war. Those who survived range in age from their sixties to eighties, and are now seeking damages for war crimes. The vast majority of the so-called "comfort women" were originally from Korea, but the suit also claims women from the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and other countries. According to the suit, Japan recruited women and girls, some as young as 11, through force, coercion and deception to serve as sex slaves for soldiers in the 1930s and 1940s. The women and girls were "shipped like military supplies" and kept in "comfort houses" near the front lines, the lawsuit says. They were raped by many soldiers a day, and often beaten, tortured and mutilated, the lawsuit alleges, citing the women's own experiences and reports authored for the United Nations and others international groups. It was not until the last decade that the Japanese government even formally acknowledged the use of forced prostitution during the Second World War. In 1995, according to the Washington Post, then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued "profound apologies," saying, "What we did was entirely inexcusable." The "comfort women," however, were never paid reparations for enduring the war crimes. Kazuo Kodama, a spokesman for the Japanese Embassy, stated when the lawsuit was filed that government officials have repeatedly expressed remorse and encouraged the development of the Asian Women's Fund, which channels private contributions to survivors. But, Kodama added, treaties negotiated with the United States and other countries in the decades after the war included provisions that prevent plaintiffs from prevailing in reparations claims. He said the issue of compensation is "legally settled." The plaintiffs' attorneys stated that the treaties do not provide Japan with a safe haven. The complaint was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a 211-year-old law that gives foreigners the right to file federal lawsuits for crimes committed in violation of international law. In May of 2001, however, the U.S. government sought dismissal of the lawsuit, contending that U.S. federal courts do not have jurisdiction and therefore may not hear the case, according to State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. The position is based in part on the fact that decades-old treaties settled claims stemming from Japan's wartime activities. Two members of South Korea's legislature criticized the State Department for seeking dismissal of the class action lawsuit brought on behalf of the "comfort women." In a statement translated to English by an attorney, Young Jin Kim of Korea's ruling Millennium Democratic Party said, "Ironically, one week after the United States was not re-elected to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, the United States released a statement in favor of Japan and against the people who were victimized." Defining "Comfort"
One recent news story about the Padaung "long-necked women" in Thailand reported that, where a mother and daughter both become part of the "exotic" tourist trade in refugee villages, "the family can live in some comfort." Meaning: relative economic comfort. To achieve this monetary reward, the so-called "long-necked" women wear layers of heavy copper coils around their throats, which give the appearance of an elongated neck, by pressing down the collar bone and ribs while lifting the chin upward. It is believed that wearing the coils was once a ritual of the Padaung tribe of Myanmar, an area neighboring Thailand, formerly called Burma. Various origins of the custom are cited, ranging from protection against animal attacks to symbols of wealth and status. One myth tells of a beautiful dragon with a long neck that was impregnated by the wind to produce the first Padaung people. Early explorers to the original homeland of the tribe referred to the "Giraffe Women" of the area. Today, some guides tell tourists that the coils were worn to keep tigers from biting the heads off women working the fields. Reports from Padaung women today are less mythical: many say they wear the coils simply because it was the tradition of their mothers and grandmothers to do so; others find great beauty in the custom; and a growing number, when questioned by interviewers from outside the area, have said that the rings are uncomfortable and only worn to increase the family income. More than a dozen years after fleeing their homeland, several hundred Padaung live in settlements along northern Thailand's border with Myanmar. Regarded as illegal immigrants, the Padaung are denied the basic rights of Thai citizens. Most of the Padaung are in three border camps in the northwestern province of Mae Hong Son. They are allowed to remain in Thailand, however, for their "tourism value": thousands of tourists flock to witness what critics call the "human zoo" featuring the "long-necked women." An estimated 10,000 Thais and foreigners visit those camps each year, paying a fee to photograph and mingle with the Padaung women and girls. The monetary exchange is rudimentary and, from our point of view, rudely shocking. The owners of tour boat companies pay 500 baht -- about 13 U.S. dollars -- each month to every girl who wears the coils. The boat operators control tourist access to Huay Puu Kaeng, a Padaung settlement along the Pai River. Visitors do not pay an admission fee to the village -- but they do pay for the boat ride. Similar tourist trade exists in other villages. In addition to receiving payment of monthly fees, the "long-necked women," often mother-daughter teams, accept tips for being photographed, as well as selling souvenirs to tourists. In interviews for various wire services, Padaung mothers often said they encouraged their daughters to make money for the family by wearing the coils around their necks. While admitting to physical discomfort, even in sleep, the mothers say that the collaring ritual is what allows them to stay in Thailand, and what affords Padaung familes the relative "comfort" of laying claim to a small income. Most girls begin wearing the coils at age 5, but some are collared as young as the age of 2. More rings are added, as the girl gets older. Typically, the first coil of brass or copper weighs about 1 kg. A second coil of the same weight is added at the age of 8, a third at 12, and if the girl's neck is strong, the last coil weighing 2 kg is added when she is 15. According to several international wire reports, the coils are sometimes removed to relieve chafing on the shoulders, but many of the women feel they appear most beautiful when their necks are long. The uplifted chin "gives an elegant impression of a tiny head floating on a golden stem," and the "long-necked women" often prefer to be buried with the coils around their necks. Similar rings round the calves and wrists are common. And, because the heavy coils -- some weighing as much as 6.5 pounds (3 kilograms) -- so completely weaken the muscles over time, the neck eventually would collapse, if the coils were removed. The girls, therefore, are collared for life. Technically refugees, the Padaung in Thailand are better off -- due payments to view the "long-necked women" -- than tens of thousands of other people who have fled Burma. The Burmese government has also seen the tourist-pulling power of the "long-necked'' women and recruited them to travel from their hill country in Kayah state to Rangoon and other tourist centres. But several of the women in Thailand said the main reason they came to Thailand was because they did not want to be forced to travel to Rangoon and perform in tourist shows without pay. According to human rights organizations, Thai businessmen were quick to exploit the Padaung, and Padaung women and their families were separated from other refugees and lived in a small, enclosed camp on the road to the other camps, where they could be viewed by tourists. Given their tourist potential, the Padaung in Thailand no longer practice agriculture, and the men of the tribe are mostly idle. While the "long-necked" women of the Padaung focus on day-to-day livelihood, outside observers argue about exploitation and distortion of tradition. A search of the internet provides many travel guides pointing to the "long-necked" or "Giraffe Women." And yes, the Mae Hong Son province has its own website featuring displays of this "tradition." <http://www.maehongsontourism.net/> We at STANDARDS ask: is this cultural preservation or perversion? |
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